Services held for hate crime victim
7/13/09 | 15 comments
Charlie Howard

Services held for hate crime victim


By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KATE COLLINS
Rev. Richard Forcier dances to the closing hymn "I'm On My Way" during the 25th Annual Charlie Howard Memorial Service held on Sunday, July 12, 2009, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor. Forcier, who was previously the minister of the Bangor Unitarian Church, had officiated the funeral service following the murder of Charlie Howard. An openly gay man, Howard was thrown to his death from the State Street Bridge in July of 1984. Buy Photo
BANGOR, Maine — The life of Charlie Howard was celebrated and memorialized Sunday with song, dance, tears and flowers.

Howard, who could not swim, was killed on July 7, 1984, when three teenage boys tossed him into Kenduskeag Stream from the State Street bridge. He was 23.

About 60 people attended the 25th annual service in memory of Howard at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 120 Park St. After the service, they walked to the bridge to dedicate the newly installed memorial and to drop flowers into the stream.

“Listen. Listen. Listen to my heart’s song,” the group sang as they dropped colored carnations into the swiftly moving water. “I will never forget you. I will never forsake you.”

The Rev. Sue Davies of Bangor Theological Seminary led the dedication ceremony next to the stream. She said the granite memorial, which resembles a large round planter surrounded by a small flower garden, was the culmination of three years’ work with city officials.

Where are Charlie Howard’s killers?

BANGOR, Maine — The teenagers convicted of manslaughter in the death of Charlie Howard are grown men now approaching middle age.

Click to read more.

Engraved on the stone on which the planter rests are the words: “May we, the citizens of Bangor, continue to change the world around us until hatred becomes peacemaking and ignorance becomes understanding.”

The Rev. Richard Forcier was a full-time student at Bangor Theological Seminary and the part-time pastor of the former Unitarian Church, where Howard worshipped, in the summer of 1984. He conducted the first memorial service for Howard.

Forcier, 55, now serves a congregation in Barre, Vt.

He returned to Bangor over the weekend to conduct the 25th memorial service. His sermon Sunday focused on why it is important to keep Howard’s memory alive despite some feelings in the community that the incident should not be brought up every year with a memorial service.

“Some say with all the progress that has been made, why keep bringing this sad, tragic tale back to life,” he said. “Marriage equality exists in some states now. Civil rights for the GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual, trangender] community exists now. Some television programs have normalized nonheterosexual relationships. Magazines aimed at the gay community have gone mainstream, and politicians who 25 years ago would not have uttered the word ‘gay,’ now court the GLBT vote.

“Others say with incidents of hatred and violence occurring all of the time locally and beyond, why concentrate on Charlie Howard?” he continued. “[They say] that it is an old story. We have heard it all before; there are new cases to confront. Besides, it’s an ugly stain on the fabric of our community that we would rather forget.”

But Howard’s story, Forcier said, should continue to be told because it sharpens our moral acuity and teaches:

— The dignity of difference.

— That affirming difference is difficult.

— That embracing difference is a spiritual project.

Lois Reed, 75, of Carmel knew Howard. She was a member of the Unitarian Church, now the Brick Church at the corner of Union and First streets. She spoke during Sunday’s service about the impact Howard’s death had on the small congregation, which merged in 1995 with the larger Universalist Church on Park Street.

“The community came together, and we worked hard,” she said. “We promised that Charlie Howard would not be forgotten and for 25 years, some of us have kept that promise.

“It is important because discrimination is still alive and well,” Reed said. “I still hear so-called jokes that are derogatory. Oh yes, homophobia still exists today, and we must continue to challenge it whenever we encounter it.”

Reed then sang a song she had written for the service to the tune of “Abraham, Martin & John,” written in 1968 by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. Reed’s version substituted the names Charlie Howard, Matthew Shepard and Harvey Milk for the names of Abraham Lincoln, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy.

Shepard was a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming, who was slain by two men in October 1998 because he was gay. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors. He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned, in November 1978.

The service and dedication Sunday were the culmination of a week of events to mark the 25th anniversary of Howard’s death. In addition to Sunday’s service, a concert, art exhibit and workshops were held.

“We think it went off very well,” Bill Carlin, 82, of Bangor said Sunday. Carlin and about a dozen others worked for about two years on a committee to plan the events.

“I wish this remembrance was more communitywide than just the UUs and Hammond Street [Congregational Church],” he said, referring to the churches that planned the activities. “It would be wonderful if all the churches in town held a remembrance service on an annual basis.”

Not registered? Click here
E-mail this
Print this
Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

Bangordailynews.com is pleased to offer a forum for readers to react to our stories, discuss them and provide additional information. We are reluctant to delete comments, but do reserve that right for those who abuse our forum. For more on using this site, please see our terms of service.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. What does that mean specifically? Here are some guidelines (see more):

Comments
15 comments on this item
On 7/12/09 at 9:57 PM, EJParsons wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 7/12/09 at 10:09 PM, MaineExpatriat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Somebody ate his holier than thou cheerios this morning.

Please UU continue to ignore it, otherwise look what you might turn someone into.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 4:17 AM, Jazz11 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Please tell me where in the bible did Jesus ever say one word about gay people. Oh yea. he did not.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 5:42 AM, free2bee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

EJParsons, please remember Religious Freedom. It is a right for all even if they don't follow your doctrine. Did you attend the services? Do you know that they did not speak against murder and violence, appears to me in my reading that they did, but I was not there. I think they follow the commandments of Christ, love God and love your neighbor.

JACK B.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 5:57 AM, Mainer50 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

WOW, no wonder we still need to remember. Who died left you judge and jury? Too bad everyone lives in glass houses and forgets that they do...just remember, "THEY" could come after you for whatever you are or believe in...If CHristian is the way you believe, then follow it, Let God judge and not you. If you believe that you are so sanctimonious and better than God...That is why I don't go to any organized church....Give me your dirty, filthy rotten money...and I will give you aalvation....AKA known as Pat Robertson...what a bucnch of hypocrites, I will stay a pagan thank-you very much.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 6:27 AM, eridon wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

His death obviously needs to be remembered.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 12:34 PM, Scintillate wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 7/13/09 at 12:45 PM, MaineExpatriat wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Allegedly it happened according to you Scintillate and it doesn't matter how many times you post it, it's still just allegedly according to you.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 12:51 PM, tedlick wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Scintillate,

Those passages only apply to Christians. If you're not Christian, it's just another mythology in a world of mythologies (many far more beautiful than that one).

Leave judgment to God... Learn to be a good neighbor instead of judging folks around you.

And 19 year old men hit on 15 - 17 year old girls EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, yet you say nothing of that. There's no difference in the two... no difference whatsoever. That's the sick hypocrisy of ignorance.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 1:33 PM, user5225 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

25 years ago, blah blah blah blah...hey BDN I think we get the idea now. You love writing about this story, I think you covered this more than you have covered the war in Iraq. It happened, it was wrong, we all learned something from it. Let's move on!

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 1:39 PM, valgal10 wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 7/13/09 at 2:13 PM, JD2008 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Scintillate...one issue with your argument, a reasonable person would know that throwing someone off of a bridge into a body of water could lead to grave bodily harm and/or death. I do not recall if they were found guilty or plead out to murder or manslaughter. Either way, they were charged as juveniles and IMHO, got off easy.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 5:00 PM, 5forfightin wrote: Click here to view hidden comment         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
On 7/13/09 at 5:03 PM, MightyLou wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I think that what happened to Charlie Howard was very tragic and if he was making sexual advances towards teenagers he certainly did not deserve to die. I remember being a teenager myself growing up in Portland. Hanging out down town there were certainly more than a few times that an older gay man made sexual advances towards me. Yes it was uncomfortable but I would just walk away and ignore the person. There was a time that I had to call the police because the individual began to harass me and my friends. I wish that the three people responsible for Howard's death would have just ignored him if that was the case and left him alone. And I think that they wished they had also. I don't believe that they intended to kill Howard but they were responsible for his death and they were prosecuted under the law. They now are older and have expressed remorse and have asked for forgiveness. I know that during this weekend there was a memorial service held at a church. I am a Christian and this morning I listened to a radio sermon on forgiveness. The pastor was talking about a servant who was forgiven his dept by his master but was not so forgiving to the people who were indebted to him. So his master when he saw this had the servant thrown in prison. A big part of the Christian life is forgiveness. Where is the forgiveness today for these men who have asked for it? For those of you who were at that service, if you hope for forgiveness form God for your sins you must forgive others of theirs. Jim Baines was tried and convicted and served his time under the law. Some people out there say he should be punished more. Well that's not up to you. He has asked for forgiveness and truly regrets his actions. I believe him. He is also protected under the law. Leave him alone forgive him and let him live his life in peace. But instead there are people who instead of wanting forgiveness and healing only wish to tear open old wounds again and again.

Report abuse
On 7/13/09 at 6:07 PM, bosox21fan wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Many people have been murdered in and around Bangor over the years and none get the coverage this "guy" gets. Why? Time to move on.

Report abuse
You must be logged in to post a comment. click here to log in.

Powered by: Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, Inc.